


War-Weary

by intern_at_german_chapterhouse



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Battle of Hogwarts, Battle of Hogwarts Aftermath, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Battle of Hogwarts, Canon Divergence - Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Canon Divergence - Post-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, First War with Voldemort, Harry Potter Needs a Hug, Hogwarts, Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), Mentor Minerva McGonagall, Past Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Sad, Second War with Voldemort, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28118367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intern_at_german_chapterhouse/pseuds/intern_at_german_chapterhouse
Summary: After fighting in the second war against Voldemort and losing the last of her old class mates, Mary is tired of war. And her chats with Harry and McGonagall don't really help either.Set right after the Battle of HogwartsRather sad short fic.
Relationships: Arthur Weasley/Molly Weasley, Harry Potter & Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Mary Macdonald & Lily Evans Potter, Remus Lupin & Mary Macdonald, Sirius Black/Mary Macdonald
Kudos: 8





	War-Weary

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer:  
> I do not own any of these characters. Some of them, unfortunately, belong to JKR.
> 
> I do not support JKR or her horrible "views" on gender or sexuality. Trans men are men, trans women are women and anyone who disagress with that should feel free to read something else.

Mary walks through the rubble in the Great Hall.  
She can barely remember what the room is supposed to look like.  
No, that's a lie.  
She knows exactly. It should be filled with laughter and students teasing each other. There should be groups huddled over their homework, pairs snogging in the corners, there should be smells of food and pumpkin juice.  
Now, the air is filled with smoke and crying.  
There are bodies lying on the floor, dozens of them, side by side next to each other.  
She doesn't recognize many of them but some...  
And she recognizes members of the Order.  
There's Sibyll holding a crying girl in her arms. There are Molly and Arthur sitting next to the corpse of a redheaded body, crying and holding each other. Kingsley and McGonagall standing by the doors talking.  
And then there's Remus. Remus, on the ground, dead. A hand stretched out to the woman lying beside him. Mary doesn't recognize her. But she knows Lupin. His face seems calm and relaxed.  
She stands at his feet and the tears start streaming.  
She's the last.  
  
"Oh, sorry."  
The voice makes her heart skip a beat. She turns to face the boy standing next to her, the 17 year old who'd bumped into her.  
Black hair, standing up in all directions. The same face as his father. But the eyes...  
With a sniffle, Mary wipes away most of the tears on her face. She wonders if it's as dirty as Potter's. But even under all the ash and dirt, she can see the scar.  
"It's okay." She can't help but smile through the tears that won't stop gathering in her eyes. He looks so much like his father. But the apologetic smile and the eyes, they're pure Lily. "Hi, I'm Mary."  
"Harry," he says as if there's a single person in the Great Hall who wouldn't recognize him. "Did you know Remus?" His voice is soft but he sounds like he's been crying.  
"Did I know Remus?" Mary has to laugh. It sounds sad and small. "Yeah, yeah, I did. I was in their year at Gryffindor."  
This seems to pique his interest: „So, did you know my parents too?" She can see that he feels bad for asking, considering everything around them. But she doesn't mind.  
Still, before she can answer, Mary has to take a deep breath. She looks around the room and tries to picture the tables in their usual place. Tries to picture Remus and Peter and Sirius and James sitting there. James asking out Lily again. Her shutting him down, as always. Marlene whispering something in Lily's ear and all three of the girls laughing together.  
"Lily was my best friend. And James? Well, everyone knew James, didn't they?"  
Harry smiles weakly and it sends another chill down Mary's back.  
"I was the maid of honour at their wedding, did you know?" He shakes his head and she continues, "Well, we were all in hiding by then but they did have a little ceremony. Just the four boys and us girls and Dumbledore. Lily made me maid of honour and of course, the best man was Sirius-" She stops talking and wipes away another stream of tears that couldn't be held back when she thought of the traitor who'd gotten her friends killed.  
The boy – or well, young man, seems to sense what she's thinking. "Sirius didn't betray them." He looks her in the eyes and she can only hold his gaze for a few seconds before she has to look away, shaking her head.  
"But I thought-" Mary stuffs her hands in the front pocket of her pants and looks to the ground where Remus lies.  
He doesn't let her continue to talk. "No, it was Peter Pettigrew." His tired voice is filled with anger.  
"Pete... Are you sure?"  
Nodding, Harry says, "Yes. He betrayed them and then set up Sirius. But Sirius got out of Azkaban a few years ago- well you probably know that, it was all over the papers."  
"No," Mary shakes her head again, "I moved to the States after the war – the first war. I haven't picked up my wand in more than fifteen years. At least, until today."  
There's a few seconds of silence between them before Mary continues.  
"So you met him? Sirius I mean?" She can't help a small smile creeping on her face. He'd been a good friend, but a shit boyfriend, probably because he'd already been fancying Remus by then Although she didn't think, the boy needed to know that.  
The first tear rolls down Harry's face and leaves a trace in the dirt on his skin. "Shortly, yes. He was my Godfather. If he hadn't gone to Azkaban, I could have grown up with him instead of at my aunt's. That would have been nice."  
The sadness in his voice hurts Mary's heart. "Oh dear, you grew up at Petunia's?"  
He nods and she puts her hands on his shoulder and looks him in the eyes, not shrinking away this time. Those green eyes, Lily's eyes.  
"I am so sorry, Harry. I... I'm your Godmother, I should have taken care of you instead of running away!"  
The apparently new information takes a second to register with Harry before he smiles and says, "You were 21, right? In the middle of a war? Of course you didn't want a toddler to take care of! And I turned out alright, I guess." He shrugs but Mary still feels guilty.  
Before she can apologize again, Harry turns to look at Remus again. "Teddy."  
"Sorry?" Mary asks.  
"They have a son," Harry says, pointing to Remus and the woman lying next to him, "Teddy. I'm his Godfather. He's an orphan now too."  
And even though Mary doesn't know Harry at all, only knew his parents, she is completely sure that this kid, this seventeen-year-old boy, will not run away from her old friends' child. No matter the war he just fought, no matter his age.  
He's too much like his parents to turn away from that.  
Before either of them can say anything else, a crying red-headed girl comes over and tucks on Harry's sleeve. He turns around and hugs her and even though Mary only saw her face for a second or two she recognizes her as a Weasley.  
Quietly, she steps back and lets them hold each other, remembering the boy Arthur and Molly had lost.  
  
McGonagall comes up to Mary and shakes her hand. "Ms MacDonald," she says, "How great to see you again. Although the circumstances could be better."  
The familiar Scottish accent and tone of McGonagall's voice make Mary smile. "Actually," she says while letting go of the Professor's hand, "it's Mrs. Foster, Professor."  
The older woman smiles and nods quickly. "Thank you for coming here. For fighting with us again. I know you'd left after the last time."  
Both their smiles vanish.  
Mary turns her head and glances at Remus' body for a second. "They're dead. They're all dead. Everyone from my year is gone."  
When she turns back to McGonagall, the teacher is crying. Mary is so shocked, she doesn't know what to do other than put her hand on the professor's arm.  
"It was never supposed to be this way. I wasn't supposed to watch them die."  
Still not knowing what to say or do, Mary simply nods.  
  
And both of the women let their gaze wander over the Great Hall.  
The bodies.  
The dirt and rubble.  
The crying students and parents.  
Filch trying to restore order.  
The smoke wafting in from the fires outside.  
The blood and ash and dirt on clothes and in hair.  
Madam Pomfrey giving out potions and healing charms.  
Teachers holding their students.  
The house-elves helping out and receiving care for their wounds.  
And in the middle of it all, the black-haired boy and the redheaded girl, holding each other, crying.  
Mary just hopes that they were all right to hope. That this time, it really is over.  
Because she doesn't think that any of them could go through it again.  
She certainly can't.  
  
And avoiding everyone who might want to talk to her, Mary makes her way out of the castle, over the grounds until she reaches the gates. And as soon as possible, she disapparates, leaving behind the castle and the smoke and the death.  
At home she curls up on the sofa, her kids playing and finishing their English and Biology homework.  
This time, she'll through away her wand.  
It's not worth it. None of it is.  
Not this. The loss and hurt and emptiness.  
Two wars are enough.


End file.
